Ode to my wide angle: A tribute to my favorite lens I FAVORITE THINGS

There’s a Nikon Nikkor lens that is the stuff of legends. This lens is so rare, so sacred that only 350 were ever created during the brief production run from 1976 to 1998. Accomplished photographer (and personal hero) Ken Rockwell makes mention of the rumors that these lenses were so revered and honored that they were blessed by Shinto priests, and Japanese customers in line to receive this “Holy Grail” of lenses could attend the ceremony.

These lenses still in high demand, but because of their rarity come at a high price (like this one available on Amazon…my birthday is in October, if anyone is looking to start shopping early).

Some may look at this and wonder, “why in the world would anyone need this lens?” But I look at it as “How I could capture the world with this lens!”

Every photographer has their deal. Some like taking detailed shots with a macro lens, some love telephotography with those PVC pipes called zoom lenses. I live for wide angle photography. For my style, they are incredibly versatile, allowing me to provide not only super-dramatic shots that incorporate additional detail while remaining focus on the subject but also close-ups that provide a new perspective on common goods. Ultra wide angles, which for my camera is any lens under 15mm, are the latest adventure, one that so far has been an amazing learning curve that has yielded amazing results already. My next big thing? Trying to capture our Milky Way one summer night soon!

You may be wondering how this may benefit you; well, let me tell you my dear, if you desire a bit of the artsy take with your classic images, you want your photographer to have this in their arsenal. Does every photo need to be wide angle? No; that would create a boring gallery for you. But that added variety is nice, especially if one seeks to have a variety of options when it comes to what they frame and hang.

Take a look at a few examples to inspiration–images to get your mind thinking about how these sort of images would look in your life and on your walls….